Service compartment for doors



Oct. 4, 1932.

DfCQLEMAN SERVICE COMPARTMENT FOR DOORS Filed 001;. 20. 1930 liu/mw Dal/d Comm/UL Patented Oct. 4, 1932 UNITED STATES DAVID COLEMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS l SERVICE COMPARTMENT FOR DOORS Application filed October 20, 1930. Serial No. 489,771.

This invention relates to improvements in service compartments for doors.

`In hotels, clubs and the like, doors of private rooms are sometimes provided with box-like compartments on the inside 1n which garments to be cleaned or pressed, laundry or other articles or parcels are placed. This door is provided with a small hinged door through which the articles can be removed by the servant and returned to the compartment without disturbing the guest or unlocking the door of h ls room.

One object of the present invention 1s to provide a compartment that can be installed in a conventional door, whether it be solid or veneered, with a minimum amount of labor, in fact by merely cutting a hole of suitable size in the door through which the cabinet can be inserted as a unit from the outer side thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compartment which is less bulky than those generally in use at the present time and which, consequently, presents a neater appearance and has less weight, but having nevertheless equal, or substantially equal holding capacity.

Another object is to provide a service compartment wherein the absence or presence of articles within the compartment may be readily viewed by the room occupant without the necessity of watching signalling devices or opening of the compartment door.

Other objects relate to various features of construction and arrangement of parts which will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification and accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the outside of a door equipped with a compartment embodying the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken on line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 8 3 of Figure 1 but on a larger scale.

In the drawing 10 indicates generally a conventional hinged door, such as a door of a hotel room which opens into a corridor. The door 10 is provided with an opening that purpose.

Preferably surrounding the door 17 is a 100 of a size to receive the garment holding unit or compartment. The compartment is pro-A vided with end walls 11 and a curved top 12, preferably of sheet metal. The bottom kof the unit is open, as shown in Figure 2; 55

A door 13 forms the rear wall of the compartment and is hinged at 14 as indicated in Figure 8. Secured to the upper part of the unit are suspension means 15- for supporting the articles within the compartment."

When the door 13 is open, the articlesor garments can be suspended from the support 15 without inconvenience, as will be obvious. The compartment being open at the bottom permits the garments to hang freely'V 65 from the support even when they are longer than the walls of the compartment.v The present unit having no bottom thus does not collect dust, etc., and being shorter and lighter than certain prior art compartments,l which enclose the entire garment, is neater in appearance and imposes less weight upon the door and 1s more economical.

The lower portion of the compartment eX- tends downwardly to sufciently shut 0E View! 75 of the room when the outer door is open. At the same time by being open at the bottom and for, and can also see readily when they have been delivered or returned.

The door 13 is provided with a lock or latchv 16 which can be operated from inside the roomv t5 but is inaccessible from the outside.

The compartment is provided with a second or outer door 17 hinged at 18 to a side wall 10 and provided with a key lock 19 which can be opened by a servant from the outside or by the occupant 'of the room from the inside, if desired. Thus the articles can be removed from the compartment upon opening the door 17 and can be returned thereto ,without disturbing the occupant of thel room. When the door 17 is open, direct view of the room is shut off by theV door 13 which,as shown in Figure 2, extends downwardly suiciently'for ble through the opening inthe door l@v andi-I then swinging the upper end of the unit upwardly and toward the door. The upper portion of the wall 22 preferably is covered, as shown in Figure 2, to correspond with the rounded olf portion 100, of the lower wall of Y the opening in the door 10. This arrangement, together with the curved wall 12 of the unit, permits the installation of the unit through an opening in the door which otherlwise would have to be somewhat larger.

Vhen the unit has been inserted as described, it is snugly held in place by the weight of the inner portion thereof, the frame 21 and molding 20 serving as stops to limit its inward movement. If desired, one or more screws 24: may also be used for securing the unit against any possible movement.

It will be seen that the compartment is supported by the forwardly or outwardly extending portions of the walls 11, 12 and 22, that is, by `those portions that extend from the ompartment proper into the opening in the oor.

Although not shown in the drawing, the door 17 may be provided with louvres. forms a desirable Ventilating means due to the fact that an indirect draft is furnished y kdownwardly thru the compartment and out through its open bot-tom. At the same time 'sound does not travel very readily through the louvres due to the indirect passage.

This Y provided with portions extending into said opening for supporting said compartment, means secured to said portions for limiting the inward movement thereof, a closure member for said opening operable from the outside of said door, said cabinet having a rear wall provided with a member providing access tothe interior of said cabinet, and garment supporting means in said cabinet acce-ssible from either side of said door by means ofs'aid members, said cabinet being open at the bottom to accommodate garments of length greaterthan said cabinet, and to eX- pose a portion of conventional garments suspended within said compartment or cabinet.

In witness whereof affix my signature.

DAVID COLEMAN.

Although I have shown and described cer- Y tain features of my improvements for the purpose of illustration, I do not wish to be restricted specifically thereto except as so limited by the appended claims.

Vhat I claim is':

1. The combination with a door having an opening therein of a holding or transfer compartment having side andtop walls provided V Vwith forwardly projecting portions defining a .passage providing access to the interior thereof, a closure member for said passage, and a stop member secured to said portions,

fsaid top wallof said cabinet being curved to permit said cabinet to bepassed through the opening in said door until said stop member engages the outer surface thereof and said forwardly projecting portions are disposed in said opening for supporting said cabinet adjacent the inside of said door. l

2. The combination with a door having an opening therein, of a compartment on the inner side of said door having side and top walls .I 

